Books

Wooden Boat Building

Get started with your next home project—build a boat.

Playing around on the water in small boats is a lot of fun. But what makes it even more special is when the boat you’re in is one you built.

For me, building a boat differs from other woodworking projects. Once finished and in the water, it comes alive. It has a personality of its own, the way it handles and moves at speed. Each hull is different. It’s easy to fall in love with a boat.

To create something that takes me places and protects me from the elements is rewarding and not that difficult to do. With tools that are often found around the home, a small amount of inexpensive material, you too could be heading to the river.

This book is a guide to building small plywood boats and covers:

– Design considerations – building for speed
– Buy plans or make your own
– What tools you will need
– Materials for your boat—that cost little
– How to build a craft, from anybody’s plans
– Building with stitch and glue
– Building on a strongback
– Best practices—working with epoxy resin and fillers
– Safety—how to protect yourself, so you can keep building
– Protecting your boat – paint options
– Another way to reduce the build cost

A practical guide to building plywood boats, written for first-time builders. Learn how to build a boat at home in the garage.

Get the book and get started this weekend, building a boat that will take you up the river.

Follow the link to the book on Amazon in your country and click on the book to “look inside” to read the first part. You can also download a free sample to read on your device.

Building Tokyo Express

Building a home on the water. Building a boat is a dream I had for years. It was a big job that took nearly 3 years, and there were many more years of planning and thinking about it before I even started. 

There are many options and so many ways to achieve the same goal. You can buy parts off the shelf or make them in your shed. I had more time than money, so I built almost everything from scratch, even the steering wheel.

Everything “marine” seems to be 3x times the price of a similar automotive part, so wherever I could, I made it instead of buying it and it worked. For $70,000 in materials and parts, I created a 40ft cat which was my home for the next 5 years. After 25 years in the water, she still looks as good as the day she was launched.

This book is the story of building Tokyo Express, what I did, how I lived and the highs and lows of homebuilding. In the back of the book is a timeline of how long each phase took. I discuss ways of building and the importance of finding a good place to do it.

If the idea of building a boat sounds interesting, this book will give you lots to think about. Grab a copy, a coffee and enjoy the journey.

Follow the links to the book in your country. Click on the image of the book to “look inside”.